Why Do The Various Copyright Pre-Settlement Lawsuit Factories Keep Copying Each Other?

from the that-design-looks-familiar dept

Earlier this year we noted, with some amusement, that the US Copyright Group (the biggest name among the recent glut of copyright pre-settlement shakedown letter factories popping up all over the country) had apparently copied the code for its settlement website from a competitor, the Copyright Enforcement Agency (even leaving in the phone number). And, of course, we've also noted that the US Copyright Group is now involved in a lawsuit after threatening to sue competitor Media Copyright Group, for being too similar.

Now, a reader who goes by the name Mr. Piracy Reporter, notes that yet another new pre-settlement lawsuit factory, going by the name of the Copyright Defense Agency, appears to have created a very, very similar website to that of the Copyright Enforcement Agency (the same company that USCG was accused of copying. You can see the images below:

Now, it's true that they're not exactly the same, but it certainly looks like one site pointed their designer towards the other's and said "make it look like that." Either that or the design firm they hired just went looking for a similar site to mimic. I especially like how both have similar, but not identical, graphics on the right-hand side, including the globe with the arrow (what does that even mean?). Of course, such copying almost certainly is not illegal, but for organizations trying to convince the world that they're all about preventing unauthorized copying, it does seem amusing to note just how much copying of each other they seem to do.

Filed Under: copying, copyright, pre-settlement
Companies: copyright defense agency, copyright enforcement group